there are no molten lava cakes in this chili’s!

hidey ho neighbors

we successfully snuck across the border from argentina to chile and are now peacefully residing in valparaiso, chile. val po is a town that seems to have immigrated from the amalfi coast and has more canine residents than humans. (fredrick dearest, the similarities to our former homes of Positano and Sorrento is overwhelming… it makes me miss both you and prosecco immensely).

look familiar, freddy?

many of the brightly painted buildings stacked on the hillsides running down to the sea are covered with beautiful murals and graffiti. we’re staying in the nicest place we have so far… david found an apartment in a hostel for only a couple dollars more that gives us a kitchen and a little living room. perfect for playing late night card games and early morning movie trailer watching.

yesterday we wandered around the city visiting several outdoor markets selling smelly fish, tables of screwdrivers and west virginia sweatshirts. we visited several shops buying more knitted goods than we have room for in our backpacks. we took a boat tour through the port, which thanks to sasha’s negotiating skills they gave us a $4 discount and let us drive the boat. we saw sea lions and a penguin. we had tea on a lovely square where 4 beggars and 2 dogs and 35 pigeons scared us into quickly returning to the nice part of town. perhaps because we’re staying in such a nice hostel, we felt obligated to treat ourselves to a nice seafood dinner in a restaurant overlooking the city. they had stain glassed windows with clowns on them. a truly enchanted day.